Drawer guide assemblies



April 6, 1965 H. MUTCHNIK ETAL 3,

DRAWER GUIDE ASSEMBLIES Filed Nov. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z9 gig-,1 :I/V

INVENTORS bE/v/ey Marc/max M54 w/v Munw/w/r BY W M ATTORNEY April 6, 1965 H. MUTCHNIK ETAL DRAWER GUIDE ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 1962 M54 w/v MurZw/v/K BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,177,647 DRAWER GUIDE ASSEMBLIES Henry Mutchnilr and Melvin Mutchnilr, both of 5864 Gist Ave., Baltimore, Md. Filed Nov. 19, 1%2, Ser. No. 238,469 8 Claims. (Ql. 312-3tl8) This application is a continuation-in-part of our application Serial No. 856,531, filed December 1, 1959.

This invention relates to drawer guide asemblies and more particularly to reciprocahle drawer guides embodying anti-friction rollers for facilitating the opening and closing movements of drawers within cabinets and other furniture items.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a drawer guide assembly for mounting within cabinets, which is rugged and reliable in operation, and of a design which renders it economical for mass production.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a drawer guide assembly which permits the withdrawal of the drawer from the cabinet without sagging and which, in addition, permits a quiet operation of the drawer in the course of its opening and closing movements.

It is another object of the invention to provide for a ready disengagement of the drawer from the drawer guide assembly when such is desired. By virtue of a limited amount of lateral play which is permitted between .the relatively reciprocable components of the drawer slides, it is possible to accommodate drawers of limited variations in size, occasioned by reasonable manufacturing tolerances in the course of production, or by physical change, such as warping, in the course of use.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing a drawer guide assembly composed of a pair of telescoping guide rails disposed on each side of the inner walls of a cabinet. A frictionless disc roller is mounted on each of the guide rails and cooperates with the guide rails in a manner to enable the quiet, smooth and easy withdrawal of the drawer with no sagging thereof in its open position. The drawer guide assembly makes possible a readily detachable but secure mounting of the drawer thereon. Therolling devices are of low cost and require no high-precision assembling operations as normally required by ball-bearings and cages therefor.

Other objects and purpose will appear from the detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the drawer in partially withdrawn position from a cabinet containing the drawer guide assembly in accordance with the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation, with certain parts in section, of the fixed and movable guide rails of the drawer guide assembly in advance of the fully extended position of the guide rails;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view along line 6-4: of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view along line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the disengageable interconnection between the drawer and the movable guide rail from the purpose of effecting the disengagement of one from the other;

of FIG. 3; and

ice

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view along line 1fi1l of FIG. 1.

In the drawings is shown a furniture unit exemplified by a cabinet C formed of a base 1, top 2 and rear wall 3 providing an open end 5- for the reception of a drawer D having a front wall 5 for closing the open end 4, and a handle H on the front 5 for manipulating the drawer between its closed and open positions.

While FIG. 2 shows the drawer fitted within the cabinet as a single unit, the opposite sides It and 10' of the cabinet may be of extended height in order to accommodate several drawers D therein.

As clearly shown in the drawings, the drawer guide assembly is constituted by a pair of reciprocably movable but laterally inseparable guide rails which preferably are fabricated of sheet steel or other sheet metal, but which may be formed from extruded aluminum and similar metals. A pair of such guide rails is mounted on the same level of each of the opposite internal walls of the cabinet independently of each other, with no interconnection or bracing therebetween, and independently of the drawer to be supported thereby. This makes possible the mounting of the guide rails within the cabinet at the time of fabrication thereof for shipment to the ultimate merchandising outlet or consumer for combination of the drawer therewith.

The fixed guide rail 11 is formed with a vertical wall 14, an upper flange 13 terminating in a downwardly turned lip 13a and a bottom horizontal flange 12 extending along the entire length of the guide terminating in an upwardly turned lip 12a (FIG. 6). Opening 15 is provided at the front end and openings 16 are provided at the rear end, and at one or more intermediate points of the vertical wall 14 of the guide rail 11 for the reception of fastening screws 17 to fasten the guide rail 11 to the left side wall 10 of the'cabinet. Opening 15 is preferably elongated in a vertical direction to permit a control of the level of the fixed guide rail.

A similar guide rail 11 is affixed to the opposite wall ll) of the cabinet at the same level as guide rail 11, with the flanges 12' and 13' thereof facing inwardly of the cabinet. In the interest of simplicity, the corresponding parts of the guide rail units on the right side of the cabinet are designated by the same reference characters with the afiixation of a prime thereto.

A roller 19, of nylon or other wear-resistant material, having a low coefiicient of friction, is mounted by means of rivet 19a on the inner face of the vertical wall 14a near the front end of the fixed guide rail (FIGS. 1 to 5) and the uppermost edge of this disc roller extends slightly above the level of the upper flange 13 of the fixed rail 11 (FIG. 4).

A movable guide rail 21 (FIGS. 4 to 7), of generally Z-shaped cross-section, is adapted to cooperate with fixed rail 11 and consists of a vertical wall 24 having an upper flange 23 terminating in a downwardly turned lip 23a. This flange 23 extends reversely with respect to flanges 12 and 13 of the fixed rail and interengage each other, with the flange 23 of the movable guide rail of greater width than the roller 19 adapted to ride upon the top of the latter at the front of the fixed rail (FIGS. 4 and 7).

A confining flange 18, of limited length, extends inwardly from vertical wall 14a of the fixed guide rail above the roller, 19 and overlies the flange 23 of the movable guide rail. This supplemental flange serves to confine the movement of the movable guide rail and particularly the flange 23 against roller 19, despite the lateral play permitted between the latter and the movable guide rail (FIG. 7).

The vertical wall 24 of the movable guide rail 21 has mounted adjacent to the rear end thereof an outwardly the left side of the drawer, as shown in Fig 8. H i v of the drawer is adapted to be supported on the flange 28,

facing roller 29 of nylon or other wear-resistant material,

similar to roller 19. The roller 29is adapted to ride along the bottom flange 12 of the fixed rail in the to-andfro movements of the movable guide rail, as shown in 'andlli nearthe front end of the fixed guide rail 11 (FIGS.v 4 and 5) to limit the forward movement of the roller 29 andto prevent the complete withdrawal of the movable guide rail 21 from within the fixed guide rail. The movable guide rail is capable of suflicient rearward movement from the front of the cabinet to uncover the opening 15 in order to permit the affixation of a fastening screw 17 therein and, of course, openings 16 at the rear and intermediate points. of the fixed guide rail are clearly free for the passage of the screw fasteners 17 therethrough. Dimples 49 and 40 are impressed inthe upper flanges 13 and 13' of fixed guide rails ll and 11', respectively, adjacent to the rear ends thereof, following the intereng agement of the slides, to limit the rearward movement of the movable guide rails '21 and 21', respectively. The dimples 40 and 40' provide obstruction to the rearward travel of rollers 29 and 29'.

Provision is made for mounting the drawer D on each of the movable guide rails 21 and 21 to effect a reliable interengag'ement therebetween so that the drawer may move conjointly. with the movable guide rails, while permitting the detachment of the drawer from the guide rails when such is desired. I

The upper flanges 23 and 23' of the movable guide rails 21 and 21', respectively, terminate a short distance from the front ends of the latter (FIG. 8). A vertical slot 30 extends downwardly from the upper edge of the vertical wall 24 at the forward end thereof for receiving the shank 31a of a headed screw 31 which is screwed into which is bent transversely from the vertical wall 24 in an inward direction of the cabinet, and the side of the drawer may be clamped to the movable guide rail by tightening the head 31h of the screw against the external side of the vertical wall 24. virtue of the bending of i the flange 23,the upper edge of the vertical wall 24 adjacent to the opposite vertical walls of the slot 30 are curved in the same direction as the fillet between the wall 24 and the fiange'i23. This curved upper edge 32 (FIG.

8) serves to prevent an unintentional lifting of the drawer from the horizontal flange 28 when the screw 31 is tightened against the wall, and a limited loosening of the screw is required'before the same can clear the wall 24 The side' with the outward curvature along the top edge 32 thereof.

near the rear end thereof, which is designed to engag the key-hole slot adjacent to the rear end of the supporting flange 28. This slotconsists of the wide recess 35,

The support of the drawer described above permits an upward tilting of the drawer along the rear edge thereof as an axis, to disengage the screws 31 and 31' from the retaining slots therefor, to make possible the convenient disengagement of the drawer from the movable guide rails, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The width of flanges 12 and 13 of the fixed rail relative to the width of the roller 29 travelling therealong, and the width of the flange 23 relative to the disc roller 19 upon which it travels, which when combined with similar play between the parts in. the opposite pair of guide rails, produces suflicient lateral play so that the sides of the drawer may be supported upon the opposed seating flanges 28 and 28 despitevariations in sizes of the drawers occasioned by acceptable manufacturing tolerances in the-course of production, or by changes arising in the course of use as a result of moisture and other Weather conditions. Thus, a lateral play of one-sixteenth inch in'each pair of guide rails makes possible the accommodation of drawers which vary one-eighth inch or thereabouts in width.

The above described feature makes possible the operation of the drawers without jamming or binding and simplifies manufacturing and assembling procedures.

While we have described our invention as embodied in a specific form and as operating in a specific manner for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that we do not limit our invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves-to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

We claim: a a

1. A drawer guide assembly comprising a'pair of relatively reciprocable but laterally inseparable interengaging guide rails, each pair adapted to be mounted independently and in its entirety on the same level on each of the opposite inner side walls 'of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with a bottom flange extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be afiixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail and spaced from said web, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web with an upper flange adapted to contact and ride upon said roller with lateral play in the course of its reciprocating movement with respect to said fixed rail, and a second roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement with lateral play on said bottom flange of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail, said second roller being disposed in a plane closer to the cabinet wall than said first-mentioned roller, a horizontal shelf projecting from said second vertical web towards the interior of the cabinet and in a direction opposite to said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably interconnecting the side of the drawer with said reciprocably movable'guide rail.

2. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of interengaging guide rails adapted to be mounted on the same level on each side of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with upper and lower flanges extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be affixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a

'disc roller mounted on said vertical webat'the forward end of said rail with the. upper flange extending there which merges with a narrower rearward recess 36. The

headed screw is guided into the key-hole slot by the sloping guide 37 which is stamped in a downward direction from the plane of the supporting flange 28 (FIGS. 4, 5

and 9).

As indicated above, similar headed projections 31' and 38' are provided on the right side of the drawer for cooperation'with corresponding slots at the front and rear ends of the movable guide rail 21'.

' beyond at a' level slightly below the uppermost'edge of said roller, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web with an upper flange superposing the upper flange of said first-mentioned fixed rail tical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement between the upper and lower flanges of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail with a limited degree of lateral clearance, said upper flange of said movable guide rail disposed above the upper flange of said fixed guide rail and in position to ride upon said first-mentioned roller with a limited degree of lateral clearance, a hori zontal shelf adjacent to the lower edge of said second vertical web on the side thereof opposite said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably clamping the side of the drawer to said last-mentioned vertical web.

3. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of relatively reciprocable but laterally inseparable interengaging guide rails, each pair adapted to be mounted independently and in its entirety on the same level on each of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with a bottom flange extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be aflixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web with an upper flange adapted to contact and ride upon said roller in the course of its reciprocating movement with respect to said fixed rail, and a second roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement on said bottom flange of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail, a horizontal shelf projecting from said second vertical web towards the interior of the cabinet and in a direction opposite to said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably interconnecting the side of the drawer with said reciprocably movable guide rail comprising a projection extending laterally from the side of the drawer near the front thereof, and the front end of said second vertical web having a downwardly extending slot therein for receiving said projection.

4. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of relatively reciprooable but laterally inseparable interengaging guide rails, each pair adapted to be mounted independently and in its entirety on the same level on each of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with a bottom flange extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be afiixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical Web with an upper flange adapted to contact and ride upon said roller in the course of its reciprocating movement with respect to said fixed rail, and a second roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement on said bottom flange of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail, a horizontal shelf projecting from said second vertical web towards the interior of the cabinet and in a direction opposite to said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably interconnecting the side of the drawer with said reciprocably movable guide rail comprising a headed projection extending laterally from the side of the drawer near the front thereof, the front end of said second vertical web having a downwardly extending slot therein for receiving said projection between the head thereof and the external side of the drawer, a second headed projection extending downwardly from the bottom edge of the drawer adjacent to the rear end thereof, and said horizontal shelf being provided with a key-hole slot near the rear end thereof for receiving said last-mentioned projection.

5. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of relatively reciprocable but laterally inseparable interengaging guide rails, each pair adapted to be mounted independently and in its entirety on the same level on each of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with a bottom flange extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be affixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web with an upper flange adapted to contact and ride upon said roller in the course of its reciprocating movement with respect to said fixed rail, and a second roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement on said bottom flange of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail, a horizontal shelf projecting from said second vertical web towards the interior of the cabinet and in a direction opposite to said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably interconnecting the side of the drawer with said reciprocably movable guide rail comprising a headed screw extending laterally from the side of the drawer near the front thereof, and the front end of said second vertical web having a vertical slot thereat for receiving said headed screw for clamping the vertical web to the side of the drawer, the upper edge of said vertical web adjacent to said slot being curved slightly in a direction opposite to the supporting shelf to hinder an accidental lifting of the screw from said slot.

6. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of interengaging guide rails adapted to be mounted on the same level on each side of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with upper and lower flanges extending transversely towards the intelior of the cabinet, and adapted to be affixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a disc roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail with the upper flange extending therebeyond at a level slightly below the uppermost edge of said roller, the other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web with an upper flange superposing the upper flange of said first-mentioned fixed rail by extending transversely in a reverse direction relative to said first-mentioned flanges, and reciprooably movable with respect to said fixed rail, and a second disc roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end of said movable guide rail for rolling movement between the upper and lower flanges of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail with a limited degree of lateral clearance, said upper flange of said movable guide rail disposed above the upper flange of said fixed guide rail and in position to ride upon said firstmentioned roller with a limited degree of lateral clearance, a horizontal shelf adjacent to the lower edge of said second vertical web on the side thereof opposite said upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably clamping the sideof the drawer to said last-mentioned vertical web comprising a headed screw extending laterally from the side of the drawer near the front thereof, and the front of said second vertical web having a vertical slot thereat for receiving the shank of said headed screw.

7. An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said horizontal shelf is provided with a key-hole slot near the rear end thereof, and a headed projection extending downwardly from the bottom edge of the side of the drawer near the rear end thereof for detachable engagement with said key-hole slot.

8. A drawer guide assembly comprising a pair of interengaging guide rails adapted to be mounted on the same level on each side of the opposite inner side walls of a cabinet, one of said rails of each pair comprising a vertical web with upper and lower flanges extending transversely towards the interior of the cabinet, and adapted to be aflixed by its vertical web to the wall of the cabinet, a disc roller mounted on said vertical web at the forward end of said rail with the upper flange extending therebeyond at a level slightly below the uppermost edge of said roller, a supplemental flange of relatively short length t 7 7 extending transversely from said vertical web above said disc roller in the same direction as said upper and lower flanges, the'other one of each pair of said guide rails comprising a second vertical web, with an upper flange superposing the upper flange of said first-mentioned fixed rail by extending transversely in a reverse direction relative to said first-mentioned flanges, and reciprocably movable with respect to said fixed rail, and a second disc roller mounted on said last-mentioned vertical web at the rear end'of said movable guide rail for rolling movement between the upper and lower flanges of said first-mentioned fixed guide rail with a'lirnited degree of lateral clearance, said upper flange of said movable guide rail disposed above the upper flange of said fixed guide rail and in position to ride upon said first-mentioned roller with a limited degree of lateral clearance and adapted to be confined in its vertical movement by said supplemental flange thereabove, a horizontal shelf adjacent to the lower edge of said second vertical web on the side thereof opposite said a V r 7 upper flange for supporting the side of a drawer, and means for detachably clamping the side of the drawer to said last-mentioned vertical web.

References Citedby'the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,902,748 3/33 Ziehl 312 337 2,328,835 9/43 Motter 312 341 X 2,582,471 1/52 West 3l2343 2,941,847 6/60 Dargene 312343 X 3,053,582 9/62 Wenger SOB-3.8 FOREIGN PATENTS 262,160 9/49 Switzerland. 279,880

4/52 Switzerland.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. A DRAWER GUIDE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF RELATIVELY RECIPROCABLE BUT LATERALLY INSEPARABLE INTERENGAGING GUIDE RAILS, EACH PAIR ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED INDEPENDENTLY AND IN ITS ENTIRELY ON THE SAME LEVEL ON EACH OF THE OPPOSITE INNER SIDE WALLS OF A CABINET, ONE OF SAID RAILS OF EACH PAIR COMPRISING A VERTICAL WEB WITH A BOTTOM FLANGE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TOWARDS THE INTERIOR OF THE CABINET, AND ADAPTED TO BE AFFIXED BY ITS VERTICAL WEB TO THE WALL OF THE CABINET, A ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID VERTICAL WEB AT THE FORWARD END OF SAID RAIL AND SPACED FROM SAID WEB, THE OTHER ONE OF EACH PAIR OF SAID GUIDE RAILS COMPRISING A SECOND VERTICAL WEB WITH AN UPPER FLANGE ADAPTED TO CONTACT AND RIDE UPON SAID ROLLER WITH LATERAL PLAY IN THE 